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Look back: Costa Concordia disaster

The Costa Concordia crashed near the Italian island of Giglio on Jan. 13, 2012. Look back on the disaster that killed 32 people.

The ship ran aground off the small and picturesque Tuscan island of Giglio after hitting a rock beneath the surface of the water.

Survivors recounted a frantic rush by passengers to get on lifeboats, while the crew appeared helpless and overwhelmed to cope.

A luxury cruise ship, the Costa Concordia was equipped with a wellness center, five restaurants, 13 bars, four swimming pools and a giant movie screen. The ship had 1,500 cabins.

The ship weighed in at more than 114,000 gross tonnage and measured 951 feet in length. A 160-foot (50-meter) gash in the hull sent water rushing into the vessel. It is owned by Genoa-based Costa Cruises and was christened in 2006, at which point the ship was believed to be the largest cruise ship flying the Italian flag.

In September 2013, 20 months after the ship ran aground, workers used huge pulleys, cables and steel tanks to pull the ship upright as part of an ongoing -- and complicated -- salvage operation.

This is the largest ship that parbuckling -- the technical term for righting a capsized vessel -- has ever been tried on. Normally the ship would have been blown apart, but that was not an option in this case because the ship was filled with noxious substances and there were two bodies still missing, according to officials with the salvage operation.

The process of righting the ship took 19 hours, and one official described it as the "perfect operation."

The Costa Concordia is seen at the end of the parbuckling operation outside Giglio harbor on Sept. 17, 2013.

The Costa Concordia is seen during a refloat operation at Giglio harbor at Giglio Island on July 14, 2014. The wreck was refloated, ready to be towed away for scrap.

On July 27, 2014, the ship was towed to the Voltri port in the Italian city of Genoa, where it will be dismantled. The process of taking the ship apart is expected to take two years.

On Nov. 3, 2014, authorities announced they had recovered the remains of the final victim killed in the Costa Concordia wreck. The remains of Russel Rebello were found in his cabin.

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